Milk grown in a lab is humane and sustainable. But can it catch on?

Like the creators of in vitro burgers, the scientists behind yeast-culture dairy are concerned about animal welfare and agricultural sustainability-but also about creating a food that will find a mass market. (Read: "Test-Tube Meat: Have Your Pig and Eat It Too.") Because their petri dish milk will mirror the formula of the real thing-the yeast cultures will be churning out real milk proteins-it will retain the taste and nutritional benefits of cow milk, says Perumal Gandhi, a co-founder of the synthetic dairy start-up Muufri(pronounced Moo-free) in San Francisco, California. That will distinguish it from soy- and almond-based alternatives, the National Geographic reports. "If we want the world to change its diet from a product that isn't sustainable to something that is, it has to be identical [to], or better than, the original product," Gandhi says. "The world will not switch from milk from a cow to the plant-based milks. But if our cow-less milk is identical and priced right, they just might." For full version go to